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First off, this withdrawal was originally promised by then President George W. Bush. The problem in IRAQ is strictly political and internal. Keeping our troops there serves no purpose. Do not fall in the trap of comparing IRAQ to Viet Nam. IRAQ is three different groups with three different religious systems and three different histories. There is no homogeneity to the peoples of IRAQ. Civil war is all but inevitable.

Viet Nam was not " won by the military and given away by the civilians." I spent 6 years in Viet Nam, spread over three tours and an amphibious operation , starting in 1963 and ending with pulling the embassy staff out in 1975. We were never able to leave our bases at night and not suffer casualties. We never owned the countryside. It is true that the back of the Viet Cong was broken in TET 1968 but by then the fighting was mainly being conducted by the North Vietnamese (PAVN) anyways.

We lost in Viet Nam because we never realized it was a political problem and not a military war. The North and South Vietnamese were one people, with family members on both sides. The North-South border was an artificial construct. All that the Vietnamese wanted was to be one country again. They didn't really care whether the Commies , the Saigon Government or the Mickey Mouse Club was in charge, just as long as they were reunited. The North offered that option, while we (South Vietnam Government and U.S. Government) never even set a reunited Viet Nam as an option. They were homogeneous. The North gave them what they wanted and we didn't, so we lost.

The problems in IRAQ are generated by ethnic and religious differences and there is nothing our troops can do to fix that.

Going back to my original question - what I would like to know is what's Iran's motivation for openly helping Turkey with Northern Iraq and the PKK? We know that Iran has active involvement in Iraq, especially with the Quds Force.

Now, why would Iran openly admit shortly after we state we are pulling out of Iraq and risk the chance for the United States reascending our statement? Is it because Iran wants the United States drawn back in, actually fight the PKK or something else?

In hindsight… I believe Iraq was a big mistake. I came to that conclusion in 2004, but it was too late to back out. That’s the problem with knee-jerk reactions.

Now Iran has more power than ever, while we are weaker than ever, not to mention flat broke. How do our national economic peril and a stronger Iran keep us safer?

Not only that, but they are approximately 1 to 2 years from a nuclear weapon. Talk about mass destruction!

Can’t remember who said it, but you never interrupt while your enemies commit suicide. Iraq and Iran were killing each other in a long war and we should have sat back and stayed out of it.

Now we teach Iraqis and Afghans our military, police, swat and political tactics. So are we teaching our enemies how to fight us in every way?

In hindsight, I believe we should have obliterated Afghanistan, came home and waited for the next victim to attack us so we could do the same. I propose utter and complete retaliation to the attackers of our homeland, not their suspected accomplices or safe harbors. That’s what economic and trade sanctions are for (which are almost never enforced).

GE still does business in Iran doesn’t it? All while the gov winks and nods.

It’s all a bunch of crappy politics and our military is used as a political battering ram. I don’t trust any political body with the lives of our soldiers. If we are going to war, let all Americans contribute to the effort. Beat our enemy to a pulp, and then bring them home as soon as possible.

War is hell, and there is a good reason for that cliché.

Police action: We know what that does to us, and anybody else who has tried it.

What makes me viciously angry about this is that it didn't 'just happen'... it was (and is) a seriously evil plan that is spiraling toward completion. It's going to be bad... I'm glad most of us are well armed and conscious to the facts. It's going to get 'bad' before it gets *really* bad! (Ringo, I think you catch what I'm saying.)

What makes me viciously angry about this is that it didn't 'just happen'... it was (and is) a seriously evil plan that is spiraling toward completion. It's going to be bad... I'm glad most of us are well armed and conscious to the facts. It's going to get 'bad' before it gets *really* bad! (Ringo, I think you catch what I'm saying.)

(this post was supposed to be a reply to #38, my bad, is getting late))

What makes me viciously angry about this is that it didn't 'just happen'... it was (and is) a seriously evil plan that is spiraling toward completion. It's going to be bad... I'm glad most of us are well armed and conscious to the facts. It's going to get 'bad' before it gets *really* bad! (Ringo, I think you catch what I'm saying.)

I catch what you're saying and couldn't agree more. Problem is, it's "so bad and so close" that people don't want to believe it.

The scariest words in all existence"Depart From Me, I Never Knew You"
- Matthew 7:23 -